Like copy-past or point-and-click, drag-an-drop has been a major feature for computer graphical user interfaces along with the commoditization of mouse devices. It may be used for moving/copying files to a new location (such as a folder). The icon representing a file can be dragged (through e.g. a select and hold user input) across a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to be dropped on a recipient or target icon, for instance representing a file directory. Another use case is when user is looking for deleting a file: its icon may be dropped to a trashcan icon to delete it. Such implementations can be seen on Windows™ Operating System (OS) 3.1 and further Windows™ versions. Overall, drag-and-drop corresponds to the action of moving a virtual object into another window or onto another virtual object.
The rise of connected screens and over-the-top media services creates new challenges for the drag-and-drop operation. First—on usage, the plurality of media that can be shared between devices is following an asymptotic curve making the drag-and-drop operation all the more significant. Second—on context of usage, the proliferation of small touch screens combined to bigger (in size) user input (thumb instead of pointer) are making the drag-and-drop more difficult that it used to be.
The multiplicity of home devices for a same users also require novel sharing solutions. It is common now to start consuming media content on a first user device and, once satisfied with a selection, to transfer it on to a second user device. Such a transfer may be enabled through a drag and drop operation.
A problem arises when the selected media content is currently being viewed by the user through a GUI displayed on his user or electronic device. It would be indeed interesting to drag and drop the media content directly onto a graphical object representing the second user device. There is nonetheless and most generally a difference in size between the first graphical object showing the media content and the second graphical object, onto which the media content may be dropped. In other words, target objects for a drop in today's GUIs are often smaller than a dragged object if the later is a displayed media content. With multiple target objects on a constrained display like the ones of a smartphone, it can become cumbersome for the user to perform the drag and drop operation in good conditions.
Therefore there is still a need for improved drag and drop techniques that can be readily applied to electronic devices such as smartphones or tablets. There is a further need for helping and guiding the user as he performs a drag and drop operation on such a small display.